Snap
The snap is the passing of the ball from the center to either the quarterback or kicker, depending on the offensive play chosen. The cursor will take the form of the word "HIKE", after which the player or AI can snap the ball at any time. Prior to the snap, the quarterback shouts pre-snap calls that are unique to each player. Pre-snap adjustments As the offense, no player can move prior to the snap, so no adjustments can be made. However, there are slight defensive cues given by the stances of defenders near the line of scrimmage. Generally, players in a triple-point stance are set to rush whoever is in posession in the ball, while defenders standing are either in zone coverage or man-to-man. Pre-snap time is much more versatile and perhaps even crucial when playing as the defense. Players can be moved anywhere ahead of the line of scrimmage. Defenders can be reassigned to rushing the ball or even assigned a target to man-to-man. Such adjustments can be vital in turning a badly defended play into a well-countered one. Like the defense pre-snap, there are offensive pre-snap cues that can reveal certain details about the play. A player in a triple-point stance will either pass/run block or run themselves, while a player standing will run a receiver route. This information is particularly vital to the defense, and can help determine which players on the offense to ignore and which others to focus on. However, these cues only apply for receivers located away from the center. Like the offensive, no pre-snap adjustments can be made while kicking. However, you can move players around on a kick return or punt return. While punt return adjustments are usually not useful, kick return adjustments can be useful especially when the kicking team is attempting an onside kick. In this case, players on the receiving team can be moved close to the ball to increase the chance of recovering the ball and reduce the likelihood of losing a fumble. Defensive Pre-Snap Example The image on the right shows a potential scenario in which pre-snap adjustments can prove to be vital. Here the defense is running Chain Link, while the offense is running an unknown play (technically an inaccessible variant of the I Spread). We can immediately tell that the 49ers' wide receiver on the top (Stan Olufsen pictured) is standing while the wide receiver on the bottom (Veronica Lee pictured) is in a triple-point stance. This tells us that Veronica Lee is set to block a defender while Stan Olufsen will run downfield and become an eligible receiever. Given the I Spread formation, we can deduce that this play is either Loose change or Wispy. Thus, to counter the offense, we can ignore Veronica Lee and QB rush the bottom CB (a custom player depicted) and safety Jerry Rice, while setting Kiesha Philipps to go man-to-man with their running back, Leah Wang, who will run a swing route. The top CB, Amir Khan, will be left to cover Stan Olufsen. The result of this play was a five-yard sack. Category:Gameplay